Name:
Darran Garnham

Time spent in the licensing industry:
Just under ten years now.

First job in licensing:
I moved from retail into a contracts administration role at LCI, which is now 4Kids Entertainment, at the height of the Pokémon craze. I walked into 250 deal memos waiting to be signed.

What were your responsibilities?
To make sure those deal memos developed into money.

Current job in licensing:
SVP sales and marketing for Eastern Europe, Kidz Entertainment/EEMC.

What are your responsibilities?
The management and drive of five offices in Eastern Europe (Moscow, Kiev, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw), plus direct sales with other markets, driving sales for excellent licensors and our brand portfolio.

What is your greatest achievement so far?
This is twofold. Receiving seven figure deals through my team to seeing small companies grow from deals I encouraged them to take.

What is the best licence you have worked on so far in your career?
Lego - the opportunity to think outside the box. There is no other brand with the parental recognition and trust in the world.

What licence would you most like to have in your portfolio?
We have an amazing portfolio, but there are one or two we would like to add - watch this space.

If you could choose your dream job in licensing, what would it be and why?
Right now, I can't think of another position I'd rather have. Although maybe doing the photo shoots for Playboy would be interesting.

What's the best thing about working in the licensing business?
To be able to watch Tom Hanks in Big and say 'I do that'. Perfect.